The superb freeware image viewer IrfanView has hit version 4.44 with a pile of tweaks and additions. A much-improved histogram is now modeless, and offers curves, RGB and other viewing selections. The Batch Scan dialog supports scanning multiple pages to PDF files. New effects include Gaussian Blur and Fast Gaussian Blur (Image > Effects > Browser). The blurriness continues with a "Vertical Shift" effect which shifts each column of pixels up or down by a random amount (it’s much better than it sounds). A "Remove/ Insert Strip" tool removes or inserts areas of the image based on your selection. The… [Continue Reading]